Best Places To Visit In India: Four Reasons Why You Should Go

I have now written two blogs about our trip to India in March 2017. The first was about our itinerary. I provided details about where we went and stayed, what we did, and where we ate. That blog is called Fourteen Days In India With Kids: Cows, Culture and Chaos. The second blog was about the challenges we faced while on our trip to India. Why you need to consider very carefully whether you and your family are ready to visit India. That blog is called India with Kids: Eight Reasons Not to Go.

Now I want to write about what made India an amazing experience for my family. Why, regardless of the challenges, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip.

Juliet and I at the Agra Fort with the Taj Mahal in the background.

India has so many wonderful things to offer visitors. The history is fascinating. There are a lot of beautiful palaces and temples that have majestically withstood the passage of time. There are many religious temples and mosques, all of which are welcoming of visitors regardless of their faith. The food is delicious and the variety offered is astounding. The people are friendly and regularly invite you into their home for tea whether they are affluent or poor. The monkeys, cows, and elephants that seem to saunter around everywhere are captivating – how they exist where one would never think they could or should is mind boggling!

A friendly family we met on our walk in the village near Hoshiarpur.

Accordingly, there are many reasons why a trip to India is worthwhile. However, I have chosen to focus on four of them. The following are the four reasons why India should be considered for your next travel destination.

India Was Very Inexpensive

There are many ways that you can travel India. It is an extremely poor country, so you could visit India and live on only a few dollars a day. You would still have food and a roof over your head. However, that roof might have holes in it, your showers would likely be cold and your food would make most westerners ill (not from quality, but from its food preparation), but you could do it. On the other hand, you could travel in luxury. You could stay in five star hotels, eat at excellent restaurants that cater to tourists (excellent Indian or western food prepared under strict sanitary conditions), and have a car, driver and/or guides at your disposal.

Luxury Travel

Luxury travel in India is obviously more than a few dollars a day. However, it is significantly less than any Western country, and less than most developing countries where I have travelled. Our fourteen day itinerary in India for 6 people cost us around $6000 USD, excluding hotels and food. That included approximately $1300 (3 x$430) for three excursions into Ranthambore National Park for our tiger safari. That fee was regulated and controlled by the Indian government.

The outdoor bar at Sher Bagh outside Ranthambore National Park

A luxury tent at Sher Bagh outside Ranthambore National Park

So for $4300 USD (I am going to exclude the three tiger safaris), we had a 9 seater van and a driver throughout our whole trip. Every time we arrived at an airport, we had someone greet us, take us to our hotel, and take care of check in. When we left a hotel, that same person would return. He would make sure our check out when smoothly. He would accompany us to the airport or train station, if we were heading that way. Every place we went, we had a separate guide who took us on our private tours.

Food

Food at tourist quality restaurants were less than western prices, but not drastically less. The more adventurous you are in trying more “authentic-type” restaurants or street food, the more money you will save! Perhaps you will be one of the lucky ones and you will not get sick!

Fresh fruit in the local market

Cooking in the market in Jaipur

Hotels

Hotels are the most expensive part of this trip. However, even at the luxury end, there is lots of choice and variation in quality. You can pay around $250 USD per night and stay in a very high quality/high service hotel that would make anyone happy. You could also go super luxurious and stay at hotels that are multiples of that. A more refined experience would be offered, but it isn’t necessary to spend that amount to get a five star quality night in India.

Croquet at the Jai Mahal Palace Hotel

The pool at the Jai Mahal Palace Hotel.

Life size game of chess at the Jai Mahal Palace Hotel

Service was Phenomenal

Everywhere we went, we had exceptional service. For services that one would normally expect a couple of people assisting you, based upon western expectations, there would be five or six people helping. So arrivals and departures from hotels were usually fast and pleasant. Whenever we checked into a hotel, we were usually offered a hot towel to wipe our hands and face, and refreshments. This was a lovely way to finish your travels and be introduced to your next hotel.

Restaurant staff were very well trained and courteous. Food was made to order, fresh and always served well.

An Example of Amazing Service

We also saw first hand how important service was in a couple of our hotels. For example, once we ate at Giardino, the Italian restaurant at our hotel Taj Jai Mahal Palace in Jaipur. The food was excellent, except my husbands dish was served only warm. The food in this restaurant was expensive. It was consistent with going to an expensive restaurant in a Western country. Thus, expectations were high. When the waiter came to ask us about our food, we said it was all excellent, except my husband’s dish was not served hot.

Rectifying The Problem

Well, the flood gates opened after that. The waiter insisted on bringing another dish…anything for my husband. When he politely refused a few times, the waiter seemed unsure what to do next. So, I told him that our teenage son could always eat more. The waiter was thrilled to order more pasta for my son. I also asked them to pack up the calzone that I only partially ate (it was huge) so that my sons could also eat it later. The next day, I learnt that both boys received from room service a full plate of pasta and a brand new fresh calzone, and no leftovers were delivered! Desert was offered, delivered to all of us, and was free.

Then, each and every member of the kitchen staff came out, including the chef, to hear our comments about what was wrong about the meal. We were mortified by this. However, we did as we were asked. Finally, when the bill arrived and my husband began adding a tip, the head waiter said that we should not leave any gratuity. He said learning how to be better was enough (suffice it to say we left a tip!).

Not to belabour this story further, the next day at breakfast, the head chef of the whole hotel came to see us to apologize and to ask if everything was ok.

Flutist serenades us at breakfast at Jai Mahal Palace in Jaipur

Rest assured, we never complained about another thing at this hotel! The earnestness in which people wanted to be excellent at what they did, and to make us happy, was incredible. We saw this here and in many other places in India.

India Has A Sophisticated Tourism Industry

We were seamlessly met, transported and guided throughout a multiple day and multiple city private tour of India, and it was brilliantly done. Our guides were very professional, had excellent English, and were very accommodating.

I luckily discovered a local travel company called Indian Vistason the internet. I always try and work with a local travel agent when creating an itinerary. Even so, I do a lot of research before I reach out to a travel agent so I have an idea of where and what I want to see. However, if you have a really good local travel agent, they can piece together what you want, and suggest other interesting things to do or see, to build a very interesting and satisfying itinerary. That is what happened.

Spending the day with elephants at Dera Amer.

Colombia

This might not seem like a big deal, but it is. I am currently trying to organize a 14 day trip to Colombia this summer (A 14 Day Colombia Itinerary: A Country of Contrasts). I am dealing with a very unsophisticated tourism industry there. There are multiple hotel choices of varying quality in most major cities, but not anywhere else. It is hard to find private transfers between major cities and rural cities only a couple of hours apart. Where they are offered, they are ridiculously expensive. It took me weeks to find a local travel agent who could help me create an itinerary. However, ultimately, his recommendations were not based upon what I was asking for, but what he could find that is currently offered in Colombia. That is an important distinction.

That did not happen when we created our itinerary for India. With a few emails and a couple of calls, I explained what I wanted and the first proposal was almost perfect. After dozens and dozens of trips that I have organized or sought the assistance of travel agents, I can tell you that does not normally happen. It’s a tribute to the travel agent, but also to the tourism industry that can offer such a rich and diverse experience in India.

Food cooked by volunteers to be offered for free to anyone who wants it at the Golden Temple.

We spent an evening at the India/Pakistan border. I never thought that I would witness thousands of people, on both sides of the India/Pakistan border, screaming, dancing, and celebrating the lowering of their flags. The atmosphere was crazy. I felt like I had been dropped into the Coliseum during Roman times and I was about to witness chariot races or some other gladiator ritual.

The Taj Mahal was magical and as beautiful as photos always suggest. In Agra, the Agra Fortwas remarkable and it was fascinating to learn about its history. In Delhi, I loved exploring the ruins of Qutab Minar and Humayun’s Tomb.

Around the Taj Mahal

Looking up at the Agra Fort

Climbing up to the Amer Fort in Jaipur, on the back of an elephant, was an amazing experience. It offered breathtaking views of the valley below. I also really enjoyed visiting the Albert Hall Museum in Jaipur and seeing ancient clothing, weapons and artifacts.

Conclusion

There are lots of reasons why a visit to India should be considered as a destination in your future. However, when and with whom needs to be properly considered. There are lots of challenges that a tourist faces in India that you do not experience in Western or other developing countries. You need to be prepared for those as every person and family is different. Regardless of when you go, you are in for a cultural treat that will stimulate all your senses and it will be a trip that you will always remember.

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I’ love to go, but the poverty scares me. My husband went twice to Delhi, it is the only place he never offered me to go with him. But then i have expat friends who loved living in Mumbai. And lots of Indian friends who praise it. I’s like to visit Pondicherie though and there is this taj hotel on an island in a lake that i dream of haha!! Anyways thx for your post

I was nervous about seeing the poverty as well. But, really, if you have been to other developing countries and have seen poverty there, then it won’t overwhelm you. You can put it into context and understand it a little bit better. I just get nervous when I hear people who have only been to North America and Europe. Then, India would be a hard country to adapt to.

Beautiful Pictures and great read about Incredible India, nlhunter! There are certain challenges you always face on new destinations, but what makes your experience better is what you adopt and learn from there. I think this is what we call adventure and thrill of traveling. Kudos!

Thank you! You are right. I am still thinking about our trip, trying to sort out how India and our experiences there fit into our other travel adventures. It is a very unique place with so much to offer. I look forward to seeing how it evolves.

Hey! I know this is somewhat off-topic but I needed to ask. Does running a well-established blog such as yours require a lot of work? I’m completely new to operating a blog however I do write in my diary daily. I’d like to start a blog so I can easily share my personal experience and feelings online. Please let me know if you have any kind of ideas or tips for new aspiring bloggers. Appreciate it!

Writing a blog is a lot of work but for me, it is something that I love to do. The key is write well and to write things that interest you and will interest others. Then, you need to understand and use social media to get your blogs into circulation. Good luck with your blog!

I just want to say I’m newbie to blogs and really loved your website. Very likely I’m planning to bookmark your site . You certainly come with superb stories. Appreciate it for sharing with us your website page.

If you want to travel in India, then it is very important to know about the place. You told The reason why to go to the place mentioned in the blog and we like your advice. Thanks for such post and please keep it up.Mathew Casey recently posted…Weather in India in July